life tends to come and go
by wearing-tearing
Summary: SPOILERS UP TO 3.02  Tyler rescues Caroline.


**1.**

He found her tied up to a chair with her head down, her hair covering up her face.

She had been missing for a few weeks, and he had tried everything in his power to track her down and bring her home safe, bring her home to him.

_Please be alive. Please be alive_, he thought over and over again as he made his way to where she was held up, her wrists and ankles bound by heavy metal chains.

He left his duffle bag fall to the floor and kneeled in front of her. "Caroline?" he asked, taking her face in his hands. Her skin had this greenish color to it, instead of the healthy-looking pale he was used to. He could see burn marks hidden by her hair across her neck and on top of her shoulder, and following the wounds path he could see her back also covered by blisters and dead burned skin.

_He left her tied up under the sun,_ he realized, horrified. _He left her to burn._

Judging by the state of her back and the color of her skin, he could see she hadn't been fed in a while too. Maybe she had starved the whole time she was under there. He reached for the duffle he had dropped, picking up a blood bag and opening the seal.

"Caroline, look at me," he lift her face up with one hand, positioning the opened blood bag between her closed lips with the other. "Come on, drink this. It'll make you feel better, I promise."

She made no reaction. _Please, you can't be dead. _He lifted her face a little bit further, using his thumb to force her jaw to open, and began pouring blood into her mouth. "Please, drink it."

Her eyelids opened a little bit, showing the white of her eyes, and she made a little choking sound with her throat. Soon, she began to swallow the blood given to her. "Yes, Caroline" Keep drinking. You're okay now. I'm here." _I wasn't too late, she's alive. Thank God._

She drained the blood pretty quickly, making obvious how much she carved the taste of it, of what gave her life. He reached for another bag, and this time when he pressed it against her mouth, he noticed the burn marks around her neck healing slightly, slowly.

Taking the hand away from her face, he focused on the chains locking her wrists. She hadn't been able to break free from them, but he was stronger. He put his fingers around the metal, trying not to hurt her any further, and pulled. Nothing happened, so he tried again. And again. And again. Finally the metal broke, releasing her right wrist that went straight to hold the bag of blood. _Good, she's reacting._

Before occupying himself with the other chain, he reached for two more bags and left them on her lap, so this way he didn't have to worry about her running off and looking for someone to drink. Her eyes were still closed as she went for another blood bag, tearing the seal open with her teeth and drinking the liquid. A little bit of it started dripping from her mouth, down her chin, and into her chest and blouse. _Ok, that shouldn't be has hot as it is right now_, he thought as he moved his gaze from the droplets of red on her skin to the armchair and chain.

After freeing her, she slid from the chair to the ground, ripping another bag and searching for one more. He sat down beside her, dropping all the contents from his backpack on the floor revealing two more blood bags. _That should be enough to at least make her heal,_ he saw her wounds already looked fainter, as if they had happened months ago. She still made no moves to acknowledge him, though. The little he knew about vampires and their eating habits all came from her, like the fact that they could go crazy if they didn't feed for longs periods of time.

He ran his fingers through her hair. _Please don't be crazy. _

After she finished draining the last bag, she opened her eyes, looking around the place where she had been held captive by her own father. He still couldn't believe anyone would wish harm to their own daughter, but Sherriff Forbes' face popped up into his mind. _What did she ever do to deserve parents like this?_

When her eyes finally focused on him, they widened. "T-Tyler?" she choked. Her voice sound harsh from the disuse, or maybe from screaming too much, he couldn't tell. _I'm sorry I didn't find you before. I'm sorry you had to scream at all. I'm so sorry._

"I'm here," he whispered. A tear ran down her left cheek and she leaned forward, collapsing into him arms. "I'm here," he said again, wrapping his arms around her waist and bringing her to him. "You're safe now. I got you."

**2.**

He carried her out of the room, her arms wrapped tightly around his shoulders and her face pressed into his neck. He could feel the tears running down his skin as she sobbed.

It was already dark outside, which was a good thing considering she didn't have her ring with her. _He must have taken it out so he could… _he almost couldn't even think the words. _So he could torture her._

She was quiet all the way to his house, the only sounds being from the tires and engine of the car. She gazed through the window, her stare vague as if she was a million miles away. He had no idea what was going through her mind, but he could guess it wasn't anything good.

He parked in front of his house and stepped outside the car, going around it and opening the door for her. When she didn't move, he ran his hand slightly through her arm. "Caroline, it's okay," he grabbed her hand, squeezing a little. "My mom's not here, it's just us."

She climbed out of the car, leaning on him for support. She still hadn't uttered a word, and he was starting to feel worried. She was always so full of live, even after she turned, always talking and making herself noticed and just being happy. He wondered if the past weeks had changed that in her, and he hated her father a little more for that.

He got into the house with her following close behind and holding tightly to his hand, their fingers interlaced. He led her to the stairs, up to his room. He had stopped by her house and packed a bag of clothes one night when her mother was sleeping, and said bag lay on top of his bed.

He passed by the bed and into the bathroom, making her seat on the edge of the bathtub. He started by taking of her boots and socks, stopping to rub circles on her ankles with his thumbs. He passed to her shirt, pulling it up from her shoulders and tossing it to the ground. Then her belt, and her pants, undoing the zipper and pulling one leg off at a time. She stood there only in her underwear, looking at her feet.

He turned on the hot water and waited for the bathtub to be filled. Her skin was already completely healed, and her skin had returned to its normal color, but there was still something different in the way she held herself. Maybe it was the fact that her hair was dirty and greasy and she had smelled better in the past, or she had suffered all the mistreats she could handle from the ones who were supposed to take care of her, always.

As the tub was full, he unclasped her bra, taking both straps between his fingers and pulling them off her shoulders and arms. He slipped his hands under the waistband of her panties and pulled them down, leaving it on the floor as he moved one of her legs into the tub, then the other as she slid into the water.

He took a bar of soap and started washing her legs, making his way up to her thighs and stomach. He washed her arms, her back, massaging her shoulders and neck while he was at it. He then took the showerhead and wet her hair, putting a little bit of shampoo on his hand and proceeding to wash her hair. After she was clean, he helped her out of the tub and started to dry her. He wrapped the towel around her breasts and reached for a brush to undo the knots in her hair. Not a word was said during the whole process.

He led her back into the room, sitting her on the bed while he went through the clothes he had brought. He settled for some loose shorts and a black tank top, helping her to get dressed. He also helped her slip into his bed, and while he was pushing the covers up to her waist, she grabbed his left wrist and looked straight into his eyes.

"Thank you."

**3.**

Her head lay on his chest, her hair falling in his right arm, and her hand had come up to hold tightly to his shirt. He knew vampires didn't sleep, but it appeared the last few weeks had taken a toll on her, leaving her mentally exhausted. He could feel the rise and fall of her chest across his ribs as she breathed, a habit from her former human life she hadn't gotten rid of, and her face looked peaceful, as if the all the horror she had gone through hadn't happened at all.

When he thought about what she must have gone through, his arms instantly tightened around her, bringing her closer to him, and he buried his nose on her hair, inhaling her fruity scent, as if he could somehow commit it to memory. He was also filled with anger, wanting to rip the throats from anyone who had ever hurt her. Then came guilt, for not being able to find her before, submitting her to more and more tortures each day, for letting her suffer. After came the protective instinct, and he swore to himself he'll never let anyone harm her ever again.

Her body tensed against his, and he saw how fast her eyes were moving under her eyelids. _Nightmare_, he thought, moving her from his chest to lay her on her back against the mattress, while he sat with one of his legs hanging from the bed. He didn't know if he should shake her awake, but his doubts were answered for him when her eyes busted open, filled with what he could identify as terror. Her breathing was coming in heavy and quick intakes of air, a little bit of her hair glued to the sweat on her forehead, and when she finally sat on the bed and turned her eyes to him, they were filled with tears.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he whispered, as he ran the tips of his fingers across her bare shoulder and arm. _I wish I could take your nightmares away too_.

She shook her head no, extending her hand as to indicate she wanted him close to her. _As if I'll ever leave you again._ She settled herself against him once more, with her face pressed close to his neck, her hand placed right on top of his heart, and he was almost positive she could feel his heartbeat.

"Will you be okay?" he asked, not really sure if he should. If he wanted to know the answer.

"Yes," she said, turning her glossy eyes in his direction, the shadow of a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "I'll be okay."


End file.
